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Michtam
Michtam, previously known as Abraxas until T.C. 4667, is a destroyed planetary member of the Galaxy Federation. It was the fourth planet in the Michtam star system. History Settlement Several figures in the series call the planet the "birthplace" of Ormus, however, it is likely this is a lie propagated by Wilhelm as Ormus apparently existed before the death of Jesus Christ on Lost Jerusalem. It is probably more of a "continuation" of Ormus than its actual "birthplace". It is the first planet settled by the people of the Immigrant Fleet after they left Lost Jerusalem. After the appearance of the main Immigrant Fleet, the sovereignty of the planet was essentially transferred to the Immigrant Fleet nation, and the planet came to be commonly called Abraxas. It became the place where "God's relics" were kept, primarily the Zohar, Zarathustra device and Proto Ω. T.C. 4000s At the start of the T.C. 4000s, the Immigrant Fleet reunited with another fleet that had escaped from Earth--a group that had already formed a united organization of nations in the form of the Galaxy Federation. The two groups began mutual exchanges, but their backgrounds and cultural disparities were too much to bridge. Most importantly of all, the Immigrant Fleet was in possession of the Zohar. This led to a history of wars and truces that has repeated itself countless times. The planet-state's population is said to have been over 2.3 billion by the T.C. 4300s; even after joining the Federation, records show that 67% of its population remained purely descended from citizens of the Immigrant Fleet. In the T.C. 4500s, the Immigrant Fleet appears in the Michtam star system and claimed sovereignty over planet Abraxas, their "holy land". A protracted conflict between the two groups started in the Michtam system not long after. T.C. 4600s In the T.C. 4600s, the territorial rights of Abraxas went to the Immigrant Fleet. However, when the moderate Julius XVIII was installed as the Immigrant Fleet's Patriarch, the Immigrant Fleet began to accept the solution of a divide-and-rule system for Abraxas. Even though the difference in their tactical prowess means the Galaxy Federation should have a formidable advantage, Federation leaders know that pressure has not gotten them far with the Immigrant Fleet, and they are recommending this alternative as well. A movement to convert the planet Abraxas over to a full divide-and-rule system was first seen at the Pilgrimage Meeting in T.C. 4667. Abraxas is the setting of Xenosaga: Pied Piper in T.C. 4667, which stars Federation counterterrorist Jan Sauer (Ziggy), in the city of Archon. During the game, after Voyager's attack on the Pilgrimage Meeting in the Archon Cathedral, the planet is put on heavy surveillance by the Federation, fearing that the Zohar would go out of control again. This led to Abraxas's sovereignty falling out of balance; eventually, all domain rights were transferred to the Galaxy Federation. The planet became recognized as a planet-state under Federation law; and at the same time, an official declaration decreed that its official name was now Michtam, taken from the star system. T.C. 4700s Margulis, Pellegri and Joachim Mizrahi are from here, in the 4700s. The planet was obliterated by the Gnosis in T.C. 4747 due to the Galaxy Federation's failed Zohar control experiment. Kevin Winnicot was the sole survivor from Michtam; unfortunately, his mother perished. After the destruction of planet Michtam, the Zohar research facilities were moved to Miltia, due to the existence of numerous facilities left on Miltia from early Immigrant Fleet visits. Xenosaga In Episode I, Juli Mizrahi mentions to Ziggy just before he leaves to rescue MOMO Mizrahi from the U-TIC Organization that the S.O.C.E.. was performing an experiment between Second Miltia and Michtam that was "vital to the future of the human race," and tied to the Zohar Project. In Episode III, Michtam space becomes the site of a full scale war between the Gnosis, the Federation and the Immigrant Fleet/Ormus. Michtam serves as the location for the last quarter of the game where the stories most of the series' cast (over 15 different characters) are resolved. Locations * Archon Spaceport - A port facility constructed in the Archon Zone, the biggest city in Michtam. A large port equipped with a mass driver, it has been used as the planet's main spaceport since the planet's name was changed from Abraxas to Michtam. * Archon Zone - The largest city on planet Abraxas. Greek for "lord" or "ruler." In Gnosticism, a word referring to evil spirits or false gods. * Draper - A region in the suburbs of Archon, densely packed with the facilities of firms in the biomedical sector. It was once used as an agricultural area, taking advantage of its fertile soil, but the bulk of the land was seized by the Galaxy Federation in the late T.C. 4580s. At that point in time, the Immigrant Fleet had territorial rights to Abraxas in all but name; while the Federation acquiesced to this ostensible fact, it demanded the partial transfer of ownership of some of Abraxas's land to them as compensation. The Federation's semi-forced ownership transfer of the Draper region is thought to have been a part of these demands. In T.C. 4591, the Draper region was opened up to private use by Dmitri Yuriev after a branch of the Yuriev Institute was built there. Every private business in the biotechnology sector set up shop in the area, hoping to enjoy the new benefits provided by the Life Recycling Act in a region closely linked with Yuriev. As expected from the above situation, most of the businesses located there were emerging branches of private industries, but government-owned nursing plants like J.M.I. also existed there. This was Yuriev's plan from the start; he ultimately induced all information related to biotechnology to concentrate itself around J.M.I.. **J.M.I. - An artificial placenta facility in the Draper section of planet Abraxas. Short for "Jacob Medical Imprinting." This facility was shut down when the Life Recycling Law was abolished following the slaughter of a huge number of fetuses by Voyager. All information that had been gathered by the facility was confiscated by the Yuriev Institute and is said to have later formed the cornerstone of raising the U.R.T.V.s. * Archon Cathedral - A cathedral built by the Immigrant Fleet/Ormus during the Old Abraxas era to worship the Zohar. Pilgrimage Meetings with the Federation and other such activities took place here. It is said to have its beginnings with the ancestors of the Immigrant Fleet who first drifted to this planet. Within a giant crack in the earth, they discovered underground ruins believed to be related to the Zohar; there, they built a facility to research both the ruins and the Zohar. The above-ground building is a place for the religious faith of the Immigrant Fleet populace, but underground lies a Zohar research facility staffed by Ormus researchers. In the heart of the underground ruins, there exists a room mode of a crystalline material that only Ormus cardinals are allowed to visit. Ziggy is closely connected to this place; it was here he was targeted by Voyager in a terrorist attack and his wife and child were killed. It is also the place where Ziggy took his own life. * Isolated Research Facility - A facility built beneath Archon Cathedral where research was conducted by the Immigrant Fleet on the Original Zohar and underground ruins. Research was conducted at this facility not only by Ormus researchers, but by Joachim Mizrahi as well. After admission to the Galaxy Federation, the facility was taken over by the Federation government. Research began to be conducted under their lead, which ultimately led to the Zohar going out of control. Much of the research staff that escaped from Michtam went on to work at the Mizrahi Cerebral Sciences Research Center on Miltia. * Underground Ruins - Zarathustra is located here. Etymology Abraxas was a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon" (each Archon being a servant of the Demiurge, the figure responsable for fashioning and mantaining the physical universe), the first of the 365 spheres. The seven letters spelling its name may represent each of the seven classic planets—Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Michtam is a Biblical reference. Trivia * Michtam is an allusion to Miktam04β, a planet mentioned in the Xenogears Perfect Works encyclopedia. In that continuum, Miktam04β is said to have been destroyed by Deus when it absorbed too much energy from the Zohar, and the Eldridge was sent to rescue survivors. This event was pivotal in setting the events of the next 10,000 years into motion. **Despite the existence of this planet Miktam04β, Neo Jerusalem is also a parallel for Michtam. Gallery 31.png|The Gnosis destroying Michtam in T.C. 4747. Michtam1.png|Ruins of Michtam. Michtam2.png|Ruins of Michtam. Michtam3.png|Ruins of Michtam. Michtam4.png|Archon Cathedral. Michtam5.png|Isolated Research Facility. Michtam6.png|Isolated Research Facility. Michtam7.png|Isolated Research Facility. MUnder0.gif|Underground. MUnder1.gif|Underground. MUnder2.gif|Underground. Zara.png|Wilhelm and Zarathustra. 317.png|Wilhelm and Zarathustra. Category:Planets Category:Destroyed planets Category:Locations